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On 05/04/2024, the European Commission published a report on the development of agri-food trade in 2023. The trade balance was at a record high in 2023. Exports reached €228.6 billion and imports €158.6 billion in 2023, for an overall surplus of 22%. Grain, dairy products and wine are the main contributors to EU agri-food exports, while oilseeds, fruit, nuts, coffee, tea, cocoa and spices are the main imports. The EU exports most to the UK (22%), followed by the USA and China. The highest EU imports of agri-food products are from Brazil (11%), the UK (10%) and Ukraine (7%).
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On 25/03/2024, during the Environment Council, Member States failed to reach agreement on the Regulation on the Nature Restoration Law. The European institutions negotiated a common position on the Nature Restoration Law in trialogue already on 09/11/2023, agreeing to renew Article 9 and to maintain its structure - Article 9 concerns commitments for the agricultural sector and agricultural ecosystems (the article was largely deleted in the plenary vote on the European Parliament's position in July 2023). However, to implement Article 9, the institutions have agreed to establish a so-called emergency brake. The European Parliament approved the preliminary agreement from the trilogue during its plenary session on 27/02/2024 (see European News of 03/03/2024 for details). The agreement now needs to be finally approved by the Member States, and the Belgian Presidency tried to negotiate support for the agreement on 25/03/2024. A total of 14 countries, including IE, DK, HR, CY, DE, FR or ES, supported the agreement, but a number of opponents, including SE, NL, PL, HU or IT, are still blocking its adoption. The Belgian Presidency remains committed to finding sufficient support for the proposal. However, if the proposal is not approved before the June European elections, its future fate will be very uncertain. The next meeting of the Environment Council is scheduled for 17/06/2024, with the European elections taking place on 06-09/06/2024.

On 20/03/2024, the European Commission issued a Communication on reforms and policy review ahead of the enlargement of the European Union. According to the Communication, enlargement is in the interest of the European Union, but the Commission believes that candidate countries will have to undertake reforms to align themselves with European values. In the agri-food area, the main challenge will be to strengthen the Common Agricultural Policy to ensure the promotion of a sustainable and competitive agricultural sector. According to the Commission, Ukraine's integration into the European Union will help the EU's food security and its position on the world market for agricultural commodities. However, given the size and structure of Ukrainian agricultural production, a thorough assessment of the long-term impact of Ukraine's accession on the viability and sustainability of European agricultural policies will be needed. Ensuring a level playing field for the agricultural sector between current and future Member States will be essential.
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On 19/03/2024, the European institutions (Parliament, Council and Commission) reached agreement in trialogue on trade liberalisation measures with Ukraine. They discussed the draft amendments adopted by the European Parliament on 13/03/2024 (see news report of 17/03/2024 for details). The European Parliament proposed to extend the list of most sensitive commodities for which restrictive measures should be taken from eggs, poultry and sugar (as proposed by the Commission) to include wheat, barley, oats, maize and honey. According to Parliament's proposal, the reference years for the introduction of restrictive measures were to be adjusted to an average of 2021, 2022 and 2023, but this proposal was not supported by the European institutions in last week's trialogue. The same reference period as proposed by the European Commission, i.e. 2022 and 2023, was maintained, the list of most sensitive commodities was extended beyond poultry, eggs and sugar to include oats, maize, groats, semolina and honey, and the institutions did not support the extension of the list to include wheat. However, the institutions agreed that in the event of the reference volumes being exceeded, the European Commission should re-establish tariff quotas (introducing automatic safeguard measures) for the approved most sensitive commodities within 14 days, rather than within 21 days as proposed by the Commission. The European Commission should strengthen its monitoring of imports of wheat and other cereals and the use of the tools at its disposal in the event of market disturbances.
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On 15/03/2024, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the EU Member States, COREPER I, approved the provisional agreement on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation reached by the European institutions in the last trialogue on 04/03/2024 (see European News of 10/03/2024 for details). Adoption by the Council will now require the support of Member States, with a vote expected in the coming weeks. In the European Parliament, the provisional agreement was approved by the EP Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (COMENVI) on 19/03/2024. The agreement was approved by a vote of 63 in favour, 9 against, with 3 MEPs abstaining. The plenary of the European Parliament is then expected to vote on the agreement on 24/04/2024.